Utley still mulling move to third

PHILADELPHIA -- Stage One of the Phillies’ dashed postseason dreams took place when they traded away Shane Victorino and Huner Pence.

Stage Two took a long time to arrive, but it did Tuesday when Darin Ruf made his first start in left field.

Stage Three hasn’t happened yet, but don’t be surprised to see it implemented either in Florida this weekend or in Washington next week.

Chase Utley continues to take ground balls at third base, and Charlie Manuel continues to observe. Utley’s suggestion to general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. a month ago that both he and the team might benefit if he could move to third has become more than a whim.

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“I watched him take some ground balls today and he looked pretty good -- really good,” Manuel said of Utley, who last played third base in a game while with Triple-A Scranton-Wilkes-Barre in 2002. “When he’s ready, he’ll come talk to me.

“I look at it as when he’s ready to play there, I’ll put him there. I’m OK with that. I think he definitely earned the right to have a say about it.”

If the Phillies have any level of confidence that Utley can play third base in 2013, it will simplify their offseason needs list. Manuel believes Freddy Galvis provides such high-end defensive ability as a middle infielder that his modest offensive skills at this point can be tolerated -- particularly if Utley, Ryan Howard and Jimmy Rollins can stay on the field.

Since the Phillies end the regular season with six games on the road, waiting until at least Friday to shift him to third would allow him to do so with far less fanfare -- and Manuel admitted that would be a benefit for a guy whose minor-league trial at the hot corner a decade ago was rocky for the first few months, then improved markedly.

“That might be better,” Manuel said. “I think he can play there because it’s a reaction position. It’s a step and a dive. It’s not a position where you have to have long range. You dive a lot, and balls are hit hard at you, but I think he reacts well on those.

Pitching coach Rich Dubee saw a strikingly different pitcher than the guy pummelled for seven runs in two innings by the Braves last Saturday while laboring through muscle spasms behind his shoulder. And because Halladay showed no lingering effects from that episode, Dubee says he “absolutely” will start Saturday in Miami.

“Unless he has some sort of setback, or a spasm came back,” Dubee said. “But what I saw today was very encouraging.

“He’s fought this from time to time this year and in different times in his career, and no one knows. I think part of it is this guy is super-accountable. He feels he should carry his end of the bargain, and he has.”

The fact that Halladay (10-8, 4.40 ERA in 24 starts) wants to make his final start isn’t the question. With the Phillies’ postseason hopes at virtually nil, the burden of deciding Halladay’s status for Saturday falls upon the organization.

And the Phillies have not thought about telling Halladay to pack it in.

“No, because he wants to take the mound. And I understand why,” Dubee said.

NOTES: The Philadelphia chapter of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America handed out its yearly awards before the game, naming Carlos Ruiz the team MVP, Cole Hamels the best pitcher, giving Jimmy Rollins the Special Achievement honor for getting his 2,000th hit, and giving Juan Pierre the True Pro award for his dealings with the media ... The home finale is Thursday, with Tyler Cloyd (2-1, 3.86) going against former Phillies farmhand Gio Gonzalez (20-8, 2.84) on Fan Appreciation Day.